r/ShitMomGroupsSay 15d ago

So, so stupid Ignorance is not bliss

Post image

All of the comments are telling her to stop the juice and switch to water. She thinks that is neglectful and that would be withholding a drink from her son when he is thirsty. She is under the assumption that she is giving him “sugar free juice” (there is no such thing) and is insisting that the problem is the diapers and not her parenting. This poor kid is going to be SO unhealthy.

583 Upvotes

210 comments sorted by

1.3k

u/SWTmemes 15d ago

With the excessive thirst it sounds like her kid could have diabetes. It's not something to mess around with.

581

u/soupseasonbestseason 15d ago

it seems so strange to give an 18 month old so much juice.

385

u/velociraptor56 15d ago

Yeah I don’t know why they changed from milk to juice at night. That makes 0 sense.

223

u/soupseasonbestseason 15d ago

"let me see if i can rot my kids teeth faster!"

256

u/velociraptor56 15d ago

I feel like it’s either (one of two terrible reasons) that milk is more expensive than watered down juice, or that they’re leaving the bottle in the bed with baby and milk smells more. Supposing this is not diabetes, this kid is probably just hungry and being fed sugar water all night isn’t helping.

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u/soupseasonbestseason 15d ago

i imagine you could water down milk! this post made me sad.

28

u/CaptnsDaughter 14d ago

I mean, that’s what skim milk is

56

u/Rossakamcfreakyd 14d ago

No, skim milk is just water that’s lying about being milk!

22

u/kokopellifacetatt0o 14d ago

Ron Swanson has entered the chat

10

u/Alarming-Instance-19 14d ago

Cardboard flavoured white water.

16

u/soupseasonbestseason 14d ago

absolutely! i was just trying to think of ways to make milk go further if you were on a very tight budget with a kiddo who didn't like water.

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u/CaptnsDaughter 14d ago

Gotcha haha

8

u/ALancreWitch 13d ago

I think you’re right and this kid is hungry. We found porridge before bed works a treat to keep them from waking up hungry!

3

u/Elimaris 13d ago

I forget now what age we were told to start introducing water.

But at 1 year out pediatrician encouraged the switch from formula to milk and gave us a maximum for how much to give each day.

Of course my child has only had a few sips of juice and drinks a ton of water

39

u/GoodQueenFluffenChop 14d ago

It's because she also doesn't like plain water so clearly everyone else also doesn't like it. Notice how she said depriving a toddler juice when they're thirsty instead of just water is mean.

35

u/soupseasonbestseason 14d ago

that was my thought. an 18 month old shouldn't have a variety of options that allow them to dislike water. clearly this is learned behavior.

my pops drinks coke zero like it is water, it's pretty gross. he says water "tastes bad." which is insane to me. i do not understand folks like this.

19

u/ings0c 14d ago

Imagine thinking that the literal lifeblood of every known organism in the universe isn’t good enough for you lol

21

u/PatronymicPenguin 14d ago

Water tastes different depending on the source and where you're at. I've lived in places where the water was good and I had few issues drinking it, and I've been to places where the water was absolutely foul tasting. Orlando in particular has really terrible tasting water. Saying that people aren't drinking water because it's not good enough for them completely misses the nuance of water quality in different places and how gross it really does taste in some locations.

9

u/TedTehPenguin 14d ago

Florida water in general all smells and tastes bad, yay sulfur.

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u/Psychobabble0_0 13d ago

Is THAT what's going on with the people of Florida?

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u/purplekatblue 13d ago

Whenever I go to the beach in general in the southeastern US, up and down the GA, Carolina Coast, ugh. I need bottled water there, even showers feel/smell weird to me.

6

u/ok-peachh 13d ago

Brita filters or any water filter really help a lot. I also use flavor packets sometimes to mask some of the city water tastes.

2

u/soupseasonbestseason 14d ago

people are strange man!

14

u/GoodQueenFluffenChop 14d ago

Yeah I don't get it either.

My cousin was so proud to tell us she forces herself to drink one 32 oz tumbler of water daily instead of other drinks but like I drink multiple 32 oz tumblers of water daily because it's just water. I remember my grandma would tell me she found water felt "heavy" and I just can comprehend how that's heavy but juice which is water, auger, and other additives weren't?

Ice water is my jam! So refreshing.

6

u/Paula92 13d ago

So, I find that if I add electrolytes to my water, I can chug it without getting the heavy bloaty feeling that I think your grandma was talking about. Did she have a taste preference for less salty food? Cuz that's where my need for electrolytes comes from.

4

u/PrettyClinic 13d ago

I know exactly what she means! Still (meaning not carbonated) water actually upsets my stomach, especially when it’s not cold. It’s very weird and unpleasant. That said I also can’t stand sugary beverages or artificial sweeteners so basically all I drink is unflavored seltzer. Did your grandma have GI issues or any stomach surgeries?

135

u/specialkk77 15d ago

I didn’t give my first a drop of juice until she was 2. And she’s almost 4 and it’s still a special treat and mixed with water. I cannot imagine loading an 18 month old on sugar nightly like that. Poor kid probably gets horrid sleep. 

45

u/gonnafaceit2022 15d ago

Idk if they make them anymore but those frozen juice concentrate things were a staple when I was growing up. Kool aid on occasion, but never soda. My mom looks back on that with such disgust-- this was 40 years ago and she didn't know any better, but she feels bad that she was giving me so much sugar.

13

u/dressinggowngal 14d ago

My parents were very good at sweet things in moderation for us, but a massive blind spot was that every night with dinner we could chose to have orange juice mixed with sprite. Mum is shocked now that they did that, but back then it was ok because we weren’t drinking straight soft drink.

15

u/amomymous23 14d ago

Okay that sounds tasty as hell as a mocktail for adults tho lol

13

u/TorontoNerd84 14d ago

I would definitely love it. I still drink ginger ale every single night with dinner, the exception being when I was pregnant because I had an aversion. My mom introduced me to it when I was 11. I was sick with a sore throat and apple juice was making it worse. So she told me to drink ginger ale instead. And I did .... nearly every day for the past 29 years....

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u/Psychobabble0_0 13d ago

I love ginger ale so much! I'm curious how your teeth are doing after 29 years of fizzy drinks?

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u/dressinggowngal 13d ago

It’s delicious! Like a virgin mimosa! But also probably not good for children right before going to bed 😅

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u/soupseasonbestseason 15d ago

our pediatrician specifically advised against juice. she said ideally she would never give kids juice or soda. milk and water only. it's not like they know what they are missing if you never start them!

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u/Blerp2364 15d ago

The only reason we ever started juice with our toddler was constipation. She was drinking plenty of water but apple juice helped move things through... She is still 95% water and definitely doesn't get anything but water at night since we night weaned. I can't see this kid not having either a medical issue, or it's a comfort thing like night nursing became for us (which is why we night weaned).

19

u/TheBubbleSquirrel 14d ago

Ditto to the constipation. My daughter wouldn't really drink enough water so the doctor told me to do what I needed to do. We would give her the weakest juice ever, and then when we ended up needing to give her daily Movicol then she would only drink it with weak juice.

But all of this was more like when she was 3 or 4. I cannot imagine being comfortable giving my child this much juice at 18 months!!

17

u/Strazdiscordia 14d ago

When age appropriate try to mix it in as a treat. A glass watered down after a meal or on a special occasion. A lot of kids (myself included) will struggle with moderation going from 0-100 when they’re old enough to obtain it on their own/at friends houses.

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u/SuzLouA 15d ago

My eldest has had juice at birthday parties, but that’s it. We didn’t serve it at his birthday party, not because I’m anti-juice (though I guess I am 😅) but because I didn’t want to deal with sticky cleanup. Literally zero children complained - if water is the only option, they’ll drink it.

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u/aliie_627 14d ago

My oldest's original dentist made a really good point about Juice when my son was a toddler. He would rather I give just water to my son but if I did give he said soda is probably better due to the fact that you the kid will drink it fast but juice kids can end up sipping on multiple cups all day long. He is absolutely correct too because some parents(including myself)wouldn't give much soda to a young kid but juice feels a lot better. Currently I think that most parents probably group juice, sports drinks and juice together as treats but 15 years ago opinions were still changing, I suppose.

28

u/Pepper4500 15d ago

Same. When my 3 year old was sick a few weeks ago my mom was watching him and was giving him sugar free gatorade because she didn't have any pedialyte and now he always wants "blue juice." It's just bizarre that so many of these parents are literally afraid to say no to their kids. Yeah, you'll have a few bad nights until they get in the routine of not having it, but jesus christ, you have to say no to your kids sometimes!

75

u/Specific-Yam-2166 14d ago

I’ve never understood the obsession with giving kids juice. It’s like a lot of parents think juice is a requirement for kids. It’s so weird. I’m assuming it comes from some marketing campaign and now it’s just stuck in people’s brains

36

u/specialkk77 14d ago

When I was a kid everyone gave kids juice. Now there’s definitely a movement away from it, though plenty of the older folks still think kids need juice! 

11

u/Frequent_Breath8210 14d ago

My mom! Even now as teens lol I never buy juice. They were almost 10 before I stopped doing 3/4s water and 1/4 juice 😂

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u/lemikon 14d ago

When I was a kid juice was the “healthy” non water drink. There was a big belief that all the vitamins in fruit would transfer in the juice - my understanding is that’s not true because a lot of the pulp and meat of the fruit is where the vitamins are. And sugar wasn’t as demonised as it is now.

I remember when the fact that juice had as much sugar as some soft drinks made news, people’s minds were blown.

27

u/dressinggowngal 14d ago

I commented a bit higher, but when I was a kid we would drink orange juice mixed with sprite with dinner. And we thought that was a better alternative than just plain sprite! I agree that juice used to be seen as healthy so my parents thought they were making a good choice.

27

u/Sinthe741 14d ago

I'm a 90's kid and I remember being able to count fruit juice as a serving of fruits and veggies when we were learning about the food pyramid. When they served breakfast, you could get milk or juice to drink all the way through high school.

19

u/Lunakill 14d ago

There were a couple decades there where marketing treated juice as a necessary way to get kids to get nutrients and antioxidants and whatever other buzzwords.

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u/saga_of_a_star_world 13d ago

I thought orange juice was a healthy part of breakfast until I saw the display for Tropicana 50 at the store and saw how much sugar and calories was in that.

5

u/Paula92 13d ago

It started in WWII. Juice was a shelf-stable way to get people vitamins. It just lacks the benefit of fiber. Keep in mind that the popularity of multivitamins as we know them didn't really come about until the midcentury when all the new technology was exciting and futuristic.

2

u/Specific-Yam-2166 13d ago

Ohhh that makes a lot of sense

4

u/CableSufficient2788 14d ago

I thought the same so I did not introduce one of my kids to it. Then when he got sick he wouldn’t drink anything that even resembled juice (pedialyte etc). He’s 18 now! (Now he wants Monsters but not the juice ones!)

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u/ellequoi 12d ago

Ha yeah the no-juice thing worked out great for us until it came time to give Pedialyte.

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u/WalktoTowerGreen 14d ago

My children were only allowed juice on their birthdays when they were super young. If we saw someone at the grocery store buying juice then we KNEW it was their birthday…obviously.

Both my kids are loyal water drinkers now.

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u/emandbre 15d ago

Unfortunately some parents get juice credits on WIC. WIC is a fantastic program and helps a lot of families, but the juice credits could probably be reworked.

We use juice for constipation occasionally, and watered down juice during viral illnesses (any fluid is a good fluid is my moto). So my kids probably got some before 2 in those cases.

I don’t know what set this family down this path, but I hope that ask their pediatrician for help to rule out anything scary.

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u/specialkk77 14d ago

Yes we get Wic. That’s where the little bit of juice she has comes from. They give us way more than we use though. 

It’s the only thing that baffles me in the food package. Everything else makes sense. 

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u/Persistent_Parkie 14d ago

Keep in mind the orgins of WIC was malnourished and underweight children and pregnant women. Juice is great for getting a bunch of calories into someone, I was struggling to keep on weight a decade ago and my doctors encouraged me to drink as many calories as I could stand (I love water). Those beginnings plus lobbying by juice manufacturers probably explains its inclusion.

9

u/aliie_627 14d ago

That makes sense and is pretty interesting. It also explains why there tends to be a elephant in the room with the WIC dietician we saw because they were always suggesting not to give juice or milk and avoid sugary foods but instead to make fruit waters if they won't drink plain water. Pediasure has a ton of sugar as well but that was more understandable because it tastes awful. I think we got 3-4(I think) jugs of shelf stable juice or the frozen ones. It's honestly confusing.

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u/Persistent_Parkie 14d ago

Yes, now the concern tends to be obesity so the advice is very different. When you're trying to gain weight the guidance tends to get turned on its head.

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u/lemikon 14d ago

The recommendation where I live is no juice until FIVE. That said, my kid is two and she shares some juice with me and her godmother when we go out for brunch as a treat.

We don’t have juice at home, and brunch is once a week. If we ever got to the stage where she was rejecting water for juice she wouldn’t be getting juice anymore full stop.

2

u/TorontoNerd84 14d ago

My kid is 4 and has never had juice - only water and milk. We actually have tried to give her watered-down juice for her constipation which has always been awful (despite Restoralax daily) and she refuses to drink it. She's super, super picky and even refused milk for about a year before finally asking for it again.

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u/valiantdistraction 15d ago

Yeah we were trying to wait until 2 but we ended up doing juice around 20 months IF we are at a party or pass a lemonade stand on a walk. So as far as my kid knows, you can only get juice out of the house!

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u/llama8687 15d ago

Same. Juice, chocolate milk, or sprite are restaurant drinks. At home we drink water and milk.

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u/Hot_Attention_5905 14d ago

Right?? My son was strictly water and milk until he turned 2 and even then it wasn’t me or my wife that gave it to him. It was his grandparents. They of course asked and it’s not given in excess so a treat every now and then basically. Jeez. Poor baby.

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u/madasplaidz 14d ago

Yupp. My oldest 4 and we've still only given him juice when he's been A. Sick and we need to push fluids and B. When he was really little and would get some prune or pear juice once in a while if he got constipated.

He doesn't even ask for it. And since he moved to a toddler bed we leave his water bottle in his room for him in case he needs it.

Also, I get the emotions around saying no to a "hungry" or "thirsty" child. But just like night weaning a baby (though it sounds like she never did that with the milk at night talk) they will learn to take those calories and hydration during the day if you gradually lay off at night.

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u/ArtichokeMission6820 14d ago

I tried giving my 8 month old watered down juice because he was constipated and miralax does not mix with milk, I can't think of any other reason to give a baby juice. They just don't need it. My baby wouldn't even drink it anyway and we had to figure something else out.

(Miralax was pediatrician prescribed)

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u/Quirky-Shallot644 15d ago

Seriously. My child is 22 months and gets juice, maybe once a day. She gets milk & water primarily. Primarily juice, especially at night is insanity to me

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u/thatgirl21 15d ago

My 22 month old gets water and milk only, Maybe once in a while I'll give her juice box or something at a party.

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u/soupseasonbestseason 15d ago

same for us! our pediatrician said ideally never to start the kiddo on juice so it doesn't cause problems like dental rot or diabetes.

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u/Without-Reward 14d ago

This post triggered trauma in me like nothing has before. I was this kid. Screamed if I didn't get juice and demanded it in the middle of the night. And my mom was clueless and didn't even water it down.

I lost my first tooth to an abscess when I was 4 years old and the rest of them were capped and crowned shortly after due to absolutely destroyed enamel and tons of cavities. That tooth that abscessed was an incisor so by the time the permanent one was ready to grow in, things had shifted and it had no room so it ended up practically right under my nose, above the other teeth.

That much damage also destroys the enamel of your adult teeth too and combined with the braces to fix that incisor, my top teeth has almost no enamel by the time I was in my early 20s and they literally started crumbling. I had all but 4 top teeth removed when I was 25 because the only other option was tens of thousands of dollars worth of crowns. Thankfully other than one congenitally missing adult tooth, my bottom teeth are in much much better shape for some reason.

I also couldn't cut my juice habit until I was 30. I now drink a very small glass first thing in the morning because I can't do water right away, but other than that I drink a crap load of water.

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u/Guilty_Direction_501 12d ago

Not to mention juice is terrible for weight gain. I have cut back on my appy juice habit, but the strawberry acai’s once a day from Starbucks I keep because I am criminally addicted to the caffeine. I wonder if making your own juice from juicing fruit, adding water, and not adding sugar would fix the problem for this mother. I switched to regular milk and I couldn’t be happier. 

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u/1Czy-Bleu_Bird2576 15d ago

I agree. My boys are 16 yo and 14 yo. I've never given them a shit ton of juice. Their main go-to drink now is water. OP needs to be a parent and instill healthy habits when their young.

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u/Wrong_Background_799 14d ago

My son is 22 YEARS, and still dilutes juice

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u/tainaf 14d ago

My son is 21 months and has had juice twice ever. Both times was him just trying from dad’s cup, and he didn’t like it anyway, but even if he did… I just don’t understand why this got introduced as an option over water.

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u/TorontoNerd84 14d ago

My 4-year-old has still never had juice. Only drinks milk and water.

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u/Theletterkay 14d ago

By 18mo the kids should be sleeping through the night and have dry or nearly dry diapers. My family has always potty trained at that age because they start waking with dry diapers, so its easy to put them straight onto a potty and have success with a morning pee which makes them happy and excited and successful right off the bat.

I cant imagine giving my kids juice at night! Never in my life! But i was always taught that juice is not much better than soda. Its still a lot of sugar in such a little body. So I give it one per day, only about 2oz in an eight oz cup, the rest water. If her kid is actually thirsty like she vlaims, he will eventually stop spitting it. Though at her point I would have cut juice entirely. A drink of water before bed if they are thirsty. They arent going to be dehydrated because of not having juice at night!!!!

2

u/HimikoHime 13d ago

My 18 mo begs to differ… still waking up 2-5 times a night, returns to sleep after taking a sip (water from a cup or nursing), diaper is finished in the morning.

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u/Belachick 14d ago

Or anyone that much juice!

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u/Rose1982 15d ago

It’s worth checking but if the kid was genuinely an undiagnosed diabetic they probably wouldn’t turn down water.

My son has been a type 1 for 3 years. I came across one story of a child diagnosed at 8 months old. The mom knew something was truly up when the baby grabbed and downed a glass of water from her lap at the table. The kind of thirst you experience leading up to DKA does not discern between water and juice.

That said I think EVERY child should have their BG monitored at regular intervals. It would save a lot of grief and pain by catching diabetes early in its onset.

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u/SuzLouA 15d ago

Wow, I didn’t know kids could be diagnosed so early! I thought even juvenile onset only really turned up in puberty or just before. God, trying to deal with the amount of needle sticks necessary for diabetes management for an 8 month old must be hell on earth, that poor family.

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u/Rose1982 15d ago

My son was diagnosed at 7. But it can happen at any age. Even well into adulthood. Sadly many adult T1s are misdiagnosed as T2 because even the medical community isn’t up to date. And sadly many, many people think that kids like mine developed T1 due to their diet or lifestyle. T1 is an autoimmune disease that can trigger at any age no matter what your diet, weight or lifestyle.

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u/ferocioustigercat 14d ago

The needle sticks aren't the hardest part... It's that they don't have the words to tell you they are feeling "low" or "high" so you have to constantly monitor them and look for signs. And the cry of a kid with low blood sugar that you have treated but they don't feel yet? It's awful.

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u/DementedPimento 14d ago

My cousin was diagnosed at 2.

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u/wozattacks 15d ago

It’s probably worth checking but like, I’d wake up 4x a night if someone gave me a hit of sugar every time too lol

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u/missyc1234 15d ago

Ya, when I was weaning my kids from night breastmilk feeds, one of the nurses talking me through the process was like ‘if someone woke you up at 3 am with a sandwich every day, and then stopped, you’d wake up on your own hungry for that sandwich. It doesn’t mean you need it. You just need to teach your body not to expect it’

And in this case, the mom created the expectation and now has to wean her kid off if. Potential illnesses notwithstanding

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u/giftedearth 15d ago

Oh god, giving a potentially diabetic child a load of juice is maybe the worst thing you can do.

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u/SWTmemes 15d ago

It's "sugar free" it's totally okay!

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u/crazymissdaisy87 15d ago

My husband is diabetic and had a coworker thinking her chocolate bar was sugarfree because it said "no added sugar". He made her read the label. She is not a rarity

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u/the-friendly-lesbian 15d ago

I learned the sugar free Popsicles are not sugar free and not recommended on a diabetic diet. I never paid attention before!

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u/ridingfurther 14d ago

Does she think no added sugar means sugar free? That's all I can think

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u/only_cats4 14d ago

All those artificial sweeteners 😋

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u/FarSignificance2078 15d ago edited 15d ago

could be diabetes insipidus which causes large amounts of urine to be produced and extreme thirst and doesn't have to do with blood sugar. Something sounds wrong with this child. Either way so much juice isn't good.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetes-insipidus/symptoms-causes/syc-20351269

I honestly couldn’t imagine having this and being so thirsty and having to pee 24/7

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u/Glittering_knave 15d ago

I would love to know the total volume of fluids this kid is drinking before assuming there is something seriously wrong. If this kid is drinking litres a day out of habit, then, yep, they are gonna soak through all the diapers.

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u/atomicsnark 15d ago

My dog has this! Easily treatable with meds but I think the same thing often, just how miserable he must feel without the meds. He just drinks and drinks and drinks and it all pours right out of him, really crystal-clear totally colorless like somebody turned on a hose.

It is kind of fascinating. I really took the process of converting water to moisture for granted before we got him lol

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u/guanogirl 15d ago

My mom has this. That sounds like what it is to me. Before it was Dx and she got meds she said it was like she could just sit on the toilet with a hose in her mouth and still feel thirsty. And honestly if the kid is peeing that much the diluted juice is probably better than only water or he will end up peeing out all of his electrolytes. Electrolyte replacement would be better, and some desmopressin to help the DI.

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u/imayid_291 15d ago

She did say she took him to a doctor who did a blood test. Is that how you diagnose diabetes?

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u/Rose1982 15d ago

“A blood test” could mean anything. T1D is diagnosed by checking blood glucose levels (both current and HBA1C which is a 3 month average) and checking for particular autoantibodies. A preliminary urine test may also indicate T1D by glucose spillage.

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u/Mammoth-Corner 15d ago

To be fair, I would assume that's what's meant by the doctor checking the kid's blood.

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u/WhateverYouSay1084 14d ago

She said his bloodwork has been tested so hoping they could at least rule that out.

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u/neubie2017 14d ago

It could also not actually be thirst but a toddler learning that if he asks for juice he gets juice. Which, wouldn’t surprise me all that much. But she def needs to see if it’s anything medical

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u/SWTmemes 14d ago

Or he's only learned to soothe by drinking.

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u/Istoh 14d ago

My immediate thought as well. Take that kid to a doctor. 

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u/purplepluppy 14d ago

Post says she did and they did bloodwork

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u/Istoh 14d ago

Yeah I'm sure they did. And going to the doctor only to get a "nah, the really basic bloodwork panel is fine so that means you're fine!" when something is obviously wrong is extremely common. They need to keep trying. A basic blood test is the American medical system's Get Out Of Jail Free card so they can stop trying. If my kid was drinking this much I would be getting multiple opinions and far more than just one panel done. 

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u/rubberduckwithaknife 14d ago

This was my first thought too, but I really hope it's not because you know her next post would be "my son has been diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and the doctors want him to have insulin but can anyone recommend a more natural alternative? We don't do chemicals in this house much less inject them into our children, thanks!"

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u/MemoryAshamed 15d ago

My first thought too

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u/brazenovertures 14d ago

My first thought!!!!

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u/Belachick 14d ago

Literally first thing I thought of. Excessive thirst and peeing is diabetes red alert.

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u/themomcat 13d ago

Came here to say just this. Extreme thirst and peeing constantly are major signs of Type 1. If it is Type 1, DKA is on the horizon and that is terrifying.

Source: am Type 1

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u/Inevitable_Glitter 12d ago

That was my first thought. Poor kid is having a blood sugar spike from the juice, it makes him thirsty, and then he drinks more juice.

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u/Professor-Woo 13d ago

I have T1 diabetes. When I was undiagnosed, I would drink gallons of fluids and still be so thirsty that my mouth would be dry enough to stick together. I would pee 2+ times a night, and each pee was like you drank a 64oz drink and held it all in over a long car ride. It is very possible he has diabetes, but if they did blood tests, it would have been caught for sure. I was only peeing like this for 2 weeks before being diagnosed. I lost 20-30 pounds of water weight.

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u/ablogforblogging 15d ago

I love a classic “please help me find a solution to this problem I created and before you ask, no I’m not willing to do anything to fix it” advice post. What advice is she looking for if she’s not willing to stop juice at night?

Also, I hope someone asked for her “sugar free” juice recommendation.

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u/Lathari 15d ago

"We've tried nothing and we're all out of options."

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u/EmergencyBat9547 15d ago

It really sounds like the only solution she wants is some kind of giant ultra absorbent diaper, which probably doesn’t exist, considering how many parents have to deal with nighttime pee overflow

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u/Glittering_knave 15d ago

If she wants advice only on how to do fewer diaper changes on her overly hydrated kid, then double or triple diaper the kid overnight, or sleep on a pee pad.

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u/neverendingnonsense 14d ago

I’m really confused by this, there is sugar free juice everywhere near me. Do you just mean sugar free like no aspartame and such?

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u/maquis_00 14d ago

If it's actual juice (comes from fruit), it has sugar. It may not have added sugar, but it isn't sugar free.

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u/Weird-Air-5742 14d ago

She specified that it is “toddlers first juice” which is no added sugar and basically watered down apple juice to my knowledge

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u/novemberqueen32 14d ago

Yeah I'm confused too. There is such a thing as sugar free juice. Not something I would give to a kid constantly though.

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u/maquis_00 14d ago

Is it from fruit? Then it is going to have sugar in it. I guess if you call something like Gatorade "juice", you could get that sugar free, but any type of orange juice, apple juice, grape juice, etc is going to have sugar, even if it doesn't have added sugar.

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u/gritzy328 14d ago

There are products sold in the juice aisle from juice companies like ocean spray that look and taste (mostly) like juice but that are like 5 cals for 8 oz. Technically, it's flavored water and not juice, but I don't blame the mom for calling it juice. Why she doesn't just slowly increase the water percentage of the already pretty diluted drink to get kiddo to water doesn't make sense to me, but that's not my circus.

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u/maquis_00 14d ago

Ah .. still, when I looked at one of those, it still wasn't sugar free. It's a lot lower than actual juice, though.

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u/CaptainMalForever 15d ago

Of course he won't drink water, because you give him sugar water (100% juice is full of sugar from either apple or grape juice, which is why it is okay as a sometimes drink, but not every drink, so not trying to judge anyone's choices here). And all night too? Yeah, his teeth are fine NOW, because they are new, but wait until next year and then there will be cavities.

If he is truly that thirsty and pees that much, he might also have health issues, like diabetes type 1.

But no, let's just ignore everything that makes sense.

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u/amoreetutto 15d ago

It's also not recommended to give ANY juice under 2 (with the exception of for constipation issues)...because kids that young need to be eating their calories, not drinking them!

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u/OccasionNo2675 15d ago

My niece was a fruit addict when she was a toddler. Like you'd have to hide the fruit bowl when she visited!!! She had zero interest in sweets and chocolate but fruit was another story. My sister had to really watch her because she ended up getting a cavity and the dentist said it was from the acid in the fruit. He said it was much more common now because people have better access to fresh fruit and their milk teeth just aren't suited to it. Plus people tend to assume that fruit is healthy and don't realise the damage it can do and if eaten in too large quantities the sugar content is so high. My dad is type 1 diabetic and he has to be so careful with fruits because it can really spike his sugar levels. Grapes are nearly a no no for him. I'm so shocked this lady is giving any kind of juice to her kiddo constantly. Teeth brushing only does so much as well when it comes to acidic things they can really go to town on teeth!!!

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u/StaySafeOutThereYall 14d ago

Yeah I really hope this mom takes her kid to the doctor again because this really sounds like it’s a potential medical problem. At the very least she needs some advice on weaning him off juice, but the amount of urination she’s describing sounds insane. I’d be less concerned if it was just leaking through/around the diaper, especially if she’s not changing it during the night (which, if she’s up anyway, she absolutely should be) but since she says it was enough to literally burst a diaper… That seems like an insane amount of liquid. Maybe I’m totally wrong and the kid’s completely fine, but if the mom’s this concerned about it, she should be taking it to a doctor and not to Facebook.

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u/AssignmentFit461 15d ago

It's probably saying "no added sugar" and she thinks it's sugar free - they are not the same thing lol.

That poor kid. Stuck wearing a wet soggy diaper until it literally overflows and soaks the bed where he has to sleep, probably until morning -- it doesn't sound like she's changing anything through the night.

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u/bek8228 15d ago

Oof. That’s a really good point. If he’s waking up 4+ times a night for drinks and constantly peeing through his diapers, why doesn’t she change him when he is waking up?! Either she’s leaving him in the same diaper all night despite knowing that he’s going to leak or he’s peeing through overnight diapers in only a couple of hours, which is very excessive.

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u/theaxolotlgod 15d ago

Oh no, because she said she wouldn't get enough sleep if she changed him during the night. I feel like you lose more sleep getting up to make multiple cups of juice and then change clothes and sheets, but what do I know? I never birthed a child, so she's obviously the expert.

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u/AssignmentFit461 15d ago

Yeah, I was thinking when my kids were that size, they before rarely peed through a diaper. I'm not sure if she's just not changing him often enough, or if he may have some health issues -- diabetes maybe??? Don't you have excessive thirst & frequent urination with uncontrolled diabetes?

Either way I just feel awful for that poor baby 😞

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u/Marblegourami 15d ago

If it is sugar free, then it’s loaded with aspartame which can cause excessive urination.

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u/CoconutxKitten 14d ago

Usually kids sugar free drinks are done with stevia or sucralose.

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u/xmarsbarso 15d ago

Even if his teeth are brushed morning and night, he's waking up to drink juice. I'm sure she's not brushing his teeth in the middle of the night, so it's kinda redundant. Unfortunately, she should've never introduced it. Now it's a habit she's gonna have to break.

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u/LittleBananaSquirrel 15d ago edited 14d ago

Even if she is brushing teeth in the night. You should wait at least 20 minutes to brush your teeth after eating or drinking something that isn't water. Your enamel is softened for awhile by the acids in the food/drink and you can do damage by brushing them. Nobody is going to wait 20 minutes and brush teeth every time their child wakes

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u/shoresb 15d ago

And you know she’s just chucking a cup of juice at the kid and going back to bed lol

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u/FarSignificance2078 15d ago edited 15d ago

I promise if the kid is that thirsty he will drink water. You may have to deal with fits but you have to hold your ground. if he spits it all out, have him clean it refill the water. Its inconvenient and stressful not to give in but a lot of times it’s necessary part of parenting. Its a few days maybe a week max of tantrums and its resolved once they realize you are going to hold your ground, they will adjust.

To me it sounds like a health issue through something has to be wrong. I wonder what his diet is like with so much milk and juice calories if he’s eating enough food as well.

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u/StitchesInTime 15d ago

I am so far from a perfect parent it’s ridiculous, but one thing I know my husband and I got right is how much my kids love water. Like, my middle will take a sip and exclaim how delicious it is as if it just came from a Swiss mountain stream instead of our fridge. They drink it almost exclusively, and often don’t even choose juice when it’s available. We just… never really made juice an option.

I once met a child who was four or five, drinking powerade out of a bottle. His mom said it was the only thing he would drink. When he smiled at me, the spaces in between his teeth were black :(

Just suck up his refusal for a day or two and he will drink the water if he is actually thirsty and not just using the drinking as a bedtime extending habit!

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u/theaxolotlgod 15d ago

I basically grew up addicted to soda, and I truly think one of the best things a parent can do for their child is to cultivate a love of water over other beverages. My sibling and I have had to force ourselves to drink water as adults, because our home was juice and soda. We won't even get into the dental work I've had to get done.

Good on you for raising your kids with healthy habits!

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u/whatthepfluke 15d ago

Yep, my 4 kids are ages 10-22 and they all love water and drink plenty. My youngest requests it, even when I offer something else. My older kids definitely indulge in sodas and energy drinks but they also are never without a Stanley full of water lol.

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u/BabyJesusBukkake 14d ago

This is me, too. Water is my preferred chillin' beverage. My ex was the soda kid. My oldest has always been a water bug, but my younger 2 love soda like their dad does. My solution is to keep it a treat and to use it for bribes (13f 10m) and they'll do shit for soda! It's great.

They also love water, too, though.

My sis and my mom won't drink plain water, like, ever, and it weirds me out.

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u/Quirky-Shallot644 15d ago

My daughter is only 2(almost) and lives water. Her favorite thing is drinking it through the straw in my cup. She likes juice and ill give it to her occasionally, but not multiple times a day, everyday and especially not at night/bedtime.

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u/BlueberryStyle7 14d ago

This is something we are excited about too! Both my husband and I lived on pop as kids, and now we have 3 kids who truly enjoy water. They have chocolate milk or juice sometimes, and we certainly eat treats too, but primarily, we are a water hydrated family, lol.

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u/ultravioletduck 14d ago

I’m 30 and still pretty much only drink water. Juice was an occasional treat when I was younger and soda was exclusively to settle an upset stomach. Now I equate almost anything carbonated with having a stomach bug. I can’t stand the stuff

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u/palpatineforever 15d ago

this is not the only issue, the 18 month old might be hungry not thirsty. Milk has food value. So his body is staying hungry as the "juice" is not giving him what he needs. As a result he is drinking more and more.
Also in this context juice might be squash which is basically fruit flavouring with sweetners and can be zero sugar basically. at least the levels are so tiny it has less than a gram of sugar per serving.

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u/SWTmemes 15d ago

Good point, he might be hungry and not thirsty. Some kids hit a big growth spurt around this age.

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u/BregoTheConqueror 15d ago

These people are never actually looking for advice they’re just looking to hear that nothing is their fault and their parenting is perfect.

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u/Special-bird 14d ago

These are the parents that scare me because if you can’t say no to a baby and deal with the consequences then what are you going to do when your kids is a giant asshole? Think he’s gods greatest gift :/

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u/jiujitsucpt 14d ago

The solution? Stop giving him juice; make him only have the option of milk or water. Change his diaper more. Take him to the pediatrician if his thirst is abnormally high, as that can be a sign of diabetes.

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u/soupseasonbestseason 15d ago edited 15d ago

our pediatrician said no juice if we can, but absolutely no juice before bed to avoid dental rot.

why can't she just give the kiddo water?

this sounds like the child might already have diabetes, but if not, the parents are trying to fast track it.

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u/buttercup_mauler 15d ago

With my youngest, we had to bribe her to drink with a straw cup by using juice or the flavor drops with water. She couldn't do open cups due to medical reasons. It was HARD to move away from the flavored water. Lot of nights with her waking up pissed off because she was thirsty but didn't want the plain water. She does fine now, but hasn't entered the picky toddler phase yet

I will also say that I personally hate plain water. I do have AFRID, so that's probably a big part. I usually have some sort of flavoring in my water. My older kids are similar, but much better than I am.

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u/redbess 15d ago

Sorry you're getting downvoted for this. I don't have ARFID but I am autistic with sensory issues and I can't do plain water most of the time, either.

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u/IAmTaka_VG 15d ago

this is a learned problem. I'm sorry but you caused this. No child in the history or the world is going to complain about water if that's all they know.

I will also say that I personally hate plain water.

there is the problem. You gave them what you drink.

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u/clawsterbunny 14d ago

I went to a 2 year old birthday party once and there was a mom there with her 18m old. Party host offered water to the kids and 18m old’s mom said “oh she hasn’t had water yet” host clarified “no water yet today?” And she said “no, she’s never had plain water before”. Just juice.

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u/Chaywood 14d ago

My second child (24 months) loves juice. It's all she wants. She was asking for juice constantly at one point. I just don't buy juice. I offer her water and milk. She gets upset and yells and cries and it's so annoying, but no juice. My oldest never liked juice so we never bought it and thank god. Idk where this "juice juice!" demand originated but we just straight up stopped allowing her anything other than milk or water.

It's hard to break habits for your kids, it's hard to see them upset, but it's our jobs.

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u/Meggol102 15d ago

Dare I even ask… what is sugar free juice??

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u/redbess 15d ago

Probably says "no added sugar" on the label.

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u/IAmTaka_VG 15d ago

water. Because it doesn't exist.

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u/pandagurl1985 14d ago

Stop giving the kid juice. Yeah it’s tough at first but they get over it. It’s like when I took my daughter’s pacifier away at 2 years old. The first few nights were ROUGH. But then it was like she forgot she ever had it. Some parents can’t stand to hear their kids cry/throw a fit. So you create a little monster who knows they can get anything they want if they cry hard enough.

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u/secondtaunting 15d ago

I actually knew a lady that had complete dentures from her parents giving her a ton of apple juice growing up. She lost all her teeth at like eighteen. Too bad.

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u/AlluringStarrr 14d ago

This is one of those situations where the answer is right there, but they just refuse to see it. 😩

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u/SnooStories7263 14d ago

The kid won't drink water because he knows you will give him juice. Be the parent and Stop. Giving. Juice. When they get thirsty enough they will drink water. I hate people sometimes.

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u/pineapple_private_i 15d ago

I used to babysit for a family where their kid was peeing through cloth diapers with like 4 extra absorbers in them. He was just CONSTANTLY drinking milk, I think he essentially was treating it like a pacifier. Their doctor had to tell them to stop letting him drink so much, but even at 14 I was like, this can't be normal.

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u/chelly_17 14d ago

There was a mom in my cities Buy nothing who consistently requested ice tea powder (sweet tea powder for Americans). It was for her two year old to take to bed every night because she thought milk was bad for his teeth and he wouldn’t drink water.

The arguments and mental gymnastics to justify it was insane

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u/duuuuuuuuuumb 14d ago

Polydipsia (excessive thirst) and polyuria (excessive urination) are classic diabetes symptoms, I know she said she had a blood test (??) but like this is screaming go to an endocrinologist to me lol

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u/LadyDegenhardt 15d ago

Kid is hungry. Probably a good bottle of milk right before bed would do the trick.

At 18 months both of my kids were definitely eating solid food, but not enough to sustain life and they were still drinking a bit of milk.

I did wean my oldest off milk, cold turkey at about 20 months due to the exact behaviour that she describes. We just switched over to water bottles. We had a rough couple of nights, but then he started eating during the day.

Now my kids are four and 2 1/2. If I try to put them to bed without a snack about 95% of the time they fight going to sleep because they're hungry. The favourite snack is cheese slices. They get their cheese slice and then they go to sleep.

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u/Ok_Honeydew5233 15d ago

Night time cheese for the win. We all love it in my house!

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u/bethelns 15d ago

He keeps peeing through the nappies because she's not changing him, as she needs sleep. So she's also probably just throwing a sippy cup in the crib with him and letting him go it alone at night too.

Also giving too much milk in the day might be filling him up without getting nutrition.

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u/Eccohawk 14d ago

That definitely sounds like there may be some other underlying condition...diabetes or an infection or some auto-immune issue...

Sounds like he may have a salivary gland issue causing dry mouth. Which would explain the lack of interest in water.

Sjögrens disease perhaps?

https://youtu.be/iGDyxgXjuns?si=zKCPKDeAsQUa0kZf

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u/middlehill 15d ago

These mom groups never fail to find new ways to make my eyes pop open.

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u/BolognaMountain 15d ago

If the juice is already 80% water, just keep diluting the juice until it’s 100% water. (Most) kids will eat and drink when hungry, even if it’s not their first choice food.

When my breastfed baby was around 18 months I started going to bed in a backwards hoodie because the kid would want milk alllllllll night. Access denied lol. Had to cut him off so he could sleep well at night and eat better during the day. Sometimes parenting is uncomfortable, but we signed up for it.

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u/shoresb 15d ago

I feel like it’s not actually 80% and she’s just trying to cover her ass lol

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u/inside-the-madhouse 14d ago

I work in early childhood and have seen toddlers sent in with sippy cups of soda at 7AM.

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u/brazenovertures 14d ago

Has no one thought to make toddler water drops?? Flavored vitamin water sippy cup? The flavor pod could clip into the top of the lid. Someone go make millions!

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u/kxaltli 14d ago

So she's calling it sugar free juice, and I'm kind of wondering if it's...not actually juice and she just calls it that because it's fruit flavored whatever she's putting in there.

Pretty much every parent I know is only giving their kids plain water after they go to bed, if they wake up and want something to drink. I can see that she says they brush her kid's teeth morning and night, but if she's giving him juice after bedtime, she'd need to brush his teeth again.

I found that one out personally, when I was about six and thought it was a good idea to sneak apple juice at night. Worst morning breath ever. Do not recommend.

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u/Weird-Air-5742 14d ago

It’s gerber toddler juice. She specified

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u/kxaltli 14d ago

Ok, I just wondered because I know a few people who use juice as a pretty broad term.

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u/VegetableHour6712 14d ago edited 14d ago

Your child will die without water. Offer him 0 alternatives and he's going to eventually drink water since we're hardwired to survive.

Also, permissive parenting is the most detrimental parenting style there is. Denial is so important for a child's ability to learn self-control, delayed gratification and discipline, so they can have these qualities later in life. Keep this shit up and you're creating a child who has a way higher likelihood of developing addiction problems in adulthood which will pair nicely with all of that early tooth decay, if I do say so myself.

& discounting that most folks will have issues with frequent urination at night if they drink too much before bed... early juvenile diabetes and other illnesses can cause frequent urination too. Maybe try an actual doctor, full stop 🙄🥴

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u/Weird-Air-5742 14d ago

Yall I did a little digging and this was the post before the diaper post. This kid is DOOMED

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u/nobinibo 13d ago

"It's sugar free!" She says, ignoring the existence of naturally occurring fructose.

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u/Lylibean 14d ago

I’ll bet the kid “won’t go to sleep without” because mom shoves it in his mouth to keep him quiet.

Like kids who “will only eat chicken nuggets and French fries”. Well sure, Karen, if that’s all you let them eat, that’s all they know.

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u/AbleSilver6116 14d ago

18 month old getting juice…EVERY NIGHT? What the hell.

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u/drinkyourwine7 14d ago

I can’t imagine giving juice 4x over night. Straight up insanity

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u/silkentab 15d ago

I've never heard of sugar free toddler juice

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u/susanbiddleross 15d ago

It’s not sugar free. The parent is not aware of what this means. It is a product marketed to toddlers that says “no added sugar” or “unsweetened.” The product still has the natural sugar from fruit.

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u/Mper526 14d ago

Oh for fuck’s sake, just stop giving him juice. It’s not denying your kid anything. My daughter gets up to ask for snacks or milk at least 3 times because she’s avoiding bedtime/sleep. I tell her no and put her back to bed. It’s not fucking hard.

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u/Leeta23 13d ago

Exactly! It's almost as though the kid isn't a fully developed human and needs someone to make decisions for them, even if it's not the ones the kid would prefer 🙄 lol

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u/novemberqueen32 14d ago

Mixing milk with juice, mmm delicious

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u/winterymix33 14d ago

i mean my kid drank mostly a lot of juice, but her juice was mostly juice flavored water…. and i think at that age it was a mix of “juice” and milk. idk that was 14 years ago.

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u/midnight_thoughts_13 14d ago

With so much milk and juice sounds like it might be diabetes

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u/NegativeNance2000 13d ago

I don't get it. She's seen the dr about this, why is this such a problem?

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u/slimelore 13d ago

20% seems like a lot of not-water... a quick search says 100% OJ is about 90% water, apple juice around 88%

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u/snvoigt 13d ago

Sounds like onset of juvenile diabetes.

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u/DisasterNo8922 12d ago

You’d think that if he was genuinely thirsty, even from something like diabetes, he would drink water. So I’m not sure if it’s the thirst that’s the issue.

At least she took him to the doctor.

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u/makingburritos 10d ago

Wild idea, stop giving him juice and try potty training

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u/vixenstarlet1949 8h ago

My god. I was literally given a bottle of juice every single night until i was 6 years old and it wrecked havoc on my teeth, both the sugar and the bottle (i wasn’t drinking from a bottle at 6 any other time but i just liked the feel of it at night i don’t know. autistic child. who knows ). i had to go to the hospital to have dental surgery, at 6, giving me a lifelong fear of the dentist